Syria, Unrest | featured news

Forty members of the Syrian security forces were killed in the northwestern town of Jisr al-Shughour, most of them in an ambush, state television said on Monday.

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Syrian troops opened fire Friday during an anti-government demonstration that appeared to be one of the biggest yet, reportedly killing dozens of protesters and wounding many more in the central town of Hama as Syrians around the country poured onto the streets in a renewed effort to force the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.

In his first comprehensive response to revolts across the Arab world, President Barack Obama is doling out punishment and praise, targeting Syrian President Bashar Assad for attacking his people but also promising fresh U.S. aid to nations that support democracy.

Syria was under growing pressure on Thursday to stop using military force against anti-government protesters after the United States slapped sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad over human rights violations.

Despite a security crackdown, demonstrators hold a 'day of defiance' against President Bashar Assad in a dozen cities after Friday prayers. Witnesses, online videos and tweets report gunfire by government forces.

Syrian army troops backed by tanks and helicopters on Saturday took a prominent mosque that had been controlled by residents in a besieged southern city, killing four people, a witness said.

A mass protest calling for sweeping changes in Syria’s authoritarian regime turned bloody Friday, with the government and protesters both claiming to have sustained heavy casualties in a restive southern city as the country’s three-week uprising entered a dangerous new phase.

Syria's president appointed a new prime minister Sunday, state television reported, as angry protesters gathered for the funeral processions of four demonstrators killed on Friday.

On a stage once commanded by his brutal father, President Bashar Assad blamed foreign conspiracies for Syria's unrest in a national speech Wednesday that sought to steel his family dynasty against a rebellion similar to those that have toppled regimes across the region.

An "extraordinary number" of security forces flooded Daraa on Monday, patrolling streets and guarding government buildings in an apparent attempt to stave off further protests, a political activist in the city told CNN.